Vestry

The Vestry is the governing board of the Light of Christ with oversight of the temporal assets and governing policies of the church. To do so for a spiritual body, however, is to seek spiritual guidance in prayer and to be concerned with the well-being and spiritual development of the church members. Those who wish to serve on Vestry are asked to be men and women who are devoted to prayer and the study of scripture, to be active in the fellowship of TLC, and to be regular in worship. Five to 12 members are elected by the membership of the church to serve on the Vestry for a period of up to three years.

2019 Vestry Bio’s

My name is Neil Peters. I am humbled to have been asked to serve as your Senior Warden. My wife Margie and I have been members of TLC since the merger with the Anglican Church of the Sprit (ACTS). I am originally from New Jersey but attended Colorado State University where I met my wonderful wife. We have been married for 49 years. It was in Fort Collins that we joined the Episcopal Church-my roots were in the Christian Reformed Church and Margie’s were in the Catholic Church. It was a change for both of us, but we have enjoyed the liturgy, spirit-filled worship and Biblical teaching at our churches, especially TLC.

We have two grown boys and three grandchildren and all are active Christians. My career was spent in various human resource positions in state government and I continue to work in that field two days each week which gives me time to care for our granddaughter, work in my wood shop, ride my bicycle and travel. We also have two five-year old puppies adopted from the Dumb Friends League.

I have been involved in Cursillo, Alpha, and a number of Bible studies over the years including leading Precepts Bible Studies. I have been a Senior Warden at Christ Church Denver and ACTS. Currently I am a Lector, Chalice Minister and Prayer Minister at TLC. I also chair the Safety/Security Team. Our congregation is a great group of committed people and we are fortunate to have an anointed and loving Pastor and staff. I hope that we can thrive as a church and provide the monetary support for our clergy, staff, outreach and the programs that we value. My prayer for TLC is that we can be a vibrant, sprit-led, discipling church and to that end I would be honored to serve as Senior Warden. I would add something I recently read, “It’s not how many people come to your church that’s important, it’s how much their lives have changed because they came.”

My name is Teddy DeBerry. I have previously served a three-year term on the Vestry, three years as your Senior Warden, two years as Secretary, and this was my first year of serving again on the Vestry. Tom and I will celebrate our 36th anniversary in January. We have a combined family of six children and are blessed with 16 grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

We began attending TLC in 2003 and became members in 2007. My Christian background can best be described as eclectic; a Southern Baptist mother (where I attended VBS), Lutheran father, and three years of Army Chapel in Germany. I joined the Lutheran Church in my early teens, was baptized and confirmed, attended Young Life in high school, was introduced to Jesus as Lord in my early 20’s and was swept up in the Renewal movement of the 70’s, finally landing in the Episcopal Church and now happily with ACNA.

I volunteered with Kairos Prison Ministry for twelve years, ministering at the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility. Vacation Bible School has been my passion for most of the time I’ve been a member of TLC. I also serve as a Chalice Bearer, a Lector, Usher with Tom, and co-chair the Missions Board with Yvonne Holley. I attended the first 3 levels of the Anglican Healing Prayer classes and consider that experience invaluable to my Christian journey. I am continuing to support Habitat for Humanity as we encourage home ownership for our Karen families.

Tom and I are blessed to call TLC our home as we continue to partner with you, “To know Christ fully, and to make Christ fully known.”

My name is Ron Slovikoski, the son of a Polish immigrant mother and coal miner father, born in Pennsylvania. After my father died when I was very young, the Lord led me to Texas to live with my sister and her husband. That was my first experience of unconditional love.

I was raised a Roman Catholic and was very active in the liturgical renewal of the church. I married a cradle Catholic girl at 26 and entered graduate school. I led the ecumenical worship team at the Catholic Student Center at the University of Texas in Austin. When I graduated, we moved to Houston with our two young daughters to work on the Apollo Program, just in time to face the challenge of Apollo 13. I moved to Boulder to work for Martin Marietta on the Viking Program, the first soft landing on Mars. We had a third daughter in Colorado, but our marriage was faltering.

Eventually, I went through divorce, annulment and a dark night of my soul. Five years later, God answered my prayers and led me into a relationship with PJ, an enthusiastic, positive-minded lady, that was 41 years ago.

During our early years together two spirit-filled friends “prayed” us into a marriage prayer group where we were baptized in the Holy Spirit. We started our church life at Christ Episcopal Church, but left when AMIA was started. We were introduced to Gerry Schnackenberg and we joined the AMIA mission that became TLC. It was during that time, when my transition from religion to a personal relationship with Christ was formed. From its beginning, TLC has been our warm, loving church home. I have been involved in the small group ministry. We have attended the Adult Education classes and I serve as a Lector. I enjoy using my photography hobby for church events.

God has slowly but surely redeemed my past and called me into His future. His Word, studied and proclaimed, has shown me my gifts only follow His will when they are used in humility and obedience. Clearly, God has a vision for TLC’s future none of us could have seen in the beginning. I am encouraged to be a part of the leadership team following His lead into TLC’s future.

My name is Mark Smesrud. My wife Tiffany and I were married March 29, 2015. After we were married, we decided to find a new church community together. Some of our dear friends advised that we start by looking for churches in our neighborhood, and that is what we did. TLC was the first and only church we visited in the neighborhood, because we immediately felt a sense of connection and belonging. We saw God at work in some beautiful ways and wanted to be a part of that.

I work as the Executive Director of Purple Door Coffee. We are a job training program for young people leaving homelessness. We have a coffee shop in Five Points and a coffee roasting operation in Englewood. We partner with churches and offices to provide their coffee as we create jobs for young people learning to work. TLC was one of the first churches to buy our coffee.

Tiffany and I can be found most nights at home with our two rescue dogs, Toddy and Mochi. We love trying new places to eat, spending time camping, and going to concerts. I am an avid baseball fan and love the Minnesota Twins. I also enjoy gardening and cooking.

Tiffany and I are grateful to be at TLC, and we look forward to being a part of this community for many years to come. I am humbled to serve as a part of the Vestry, and I am thankful for this outlet to use my gifts to serve this community and the Kingdom.

My name is Mike Sorensen. My wife Anne and I have been married for 39 years. Anne and I moved from California to Colorado in the summer of 2011, and we’ve been attending TLC for a little more than four years. We were overwhelmed with the immediate acceptance, warmth, love, and prayer that we received, as well as the presence of the Holy Spirit that surrounded us. We feel very blessed to be a part of such a wonderful spiritual community.

We have a son who is 35, and a daughter who is 32. They both remained in California to continue living their own lives. Our daughter has been married for 3½ years – I had the honor and privilege of performing the ceremony – and we are grandparents to a 18 month old granddaughter.

I have served on Vestry for two years now, and I have served on governing boards for three other churches in the past. I currently serve as a Chalice Bearer and Lector, and I feel blessed to serve TLC as part of the Vestry.

In my first career, I worked in restaurant management for more than 20 years. I went back to school to become a credentialed teacher and I am now in my 23rd year as a high school science teacher. While the original move to Colorado was a relocation for Anne’s company, I was blessed to be hired at Valor Christian High School in Highlands Ranch. I currently teach Biology to 9th graders, and Advanced Placement Biology to 11th and 12th grade students. It is amazing to be able to work at a place surrounded by others who share my faith, but I am also privileged to regularly speak directly into the lives of the students I see each day.

I love being a member at TLC. The encouragement – as well as challenge – of solid biblical teaching has been a wonderful support for me over the last four years, and the friendship, fellowship, and discussions that I have

with others helps to deepen and grow my faith. I look forward to serving on the Vestry to the best of my ability, and will do my best to use all of the gifts that God has given me.

My name is Stacey Stillwell. My husband, Dan, and I have been married for 26 years and we have three children: Derek (21), Abby (21) and Thomas (17). We joined TLC in 2002, after leaving St. Nicholas Episcopal in 2000 to help form New Hope Anglican, which eventually merged with TLC. We have been blessed by all aspects of the church, including having our kids grow up in children’s Christian Ed and the Youth Group. I head up the Operation Christmas Child ministry, co-chair VBS registration, organize the Rockies Faith Day outing, help teach English to our Karen members, and serve as a lector.

My education/first career was civil-environmental engineering, but I left that profession after being blessed with babies and opted for part time work instead. I’ve been an adjunct math instructor at Red Rocks Community College since 2001.

I am grateful for the teaching and leadership of the Clergy, Vestry, and Lay ministers at TLC. After completing my first two years on the Vestry, I would be honored to continue in a third year to help promote TLC’s mission of making Christ fully known.

My name is Bobbi Wegener. I have been a member of TLC for about seven and a half years. I teach Sunday School, serve as lector, and lead one of the women’s Bible study groups.

I was born and raised in Meeker, Colorado, where I attended St. James Episcopal Church. Since our church did not have Vacation Bible School, I attended an Assembly of God V.B.S., where I accepted Jesus as my Savior. It has been my life journey learning what that fully means. I met my husband, Paul, while attending then Colorado State College in Greeley, and we have been married for 53 years. We have two daughters and one son and his wife and our grandson.

After teaching in public school in Tribune, Kansas, first in Chapter 1 and Migrant Education, then as a third-grade teacher, I quit, and was led to accept a position as headmistress, teaching in a Christian school, which consisted of a student population of half Baptist and half Catholic. We moved to Denver in 2010, to care for my father-in-law, and although in the middle of the move he died, we decided we would stay.

I look forward to joining my fellow Vestry members to prayerfully understand where God is leading T.L.C., and to serve God and you where ever I am able. As a congregation of varied ages, backgrounds, and skills, I know the Lord has a plan for each of us.